Sleep
by love-and-truthiness
Summary: Edward and Winry bond during a night when the electricity goes out. That may sound M-rated, but it's not, I swear! Rated T just to be safe- just for mild language. EdXWin
1. Chapter 1 Nighttime

I think this story could take place in the anime or the manga. Unfortunately, I don't own either the anime or manga. Hiromu Arakawa is the genius behind it all.

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Thunder crashed as Winry dusted off her work clothes. "Your automail is good as new!" Winry said. "Just try not to wreck it this time!"

"Sorry," Edward said, avoiding Winry's eyes.

When Edward flexed his repaired automail, the room fell black and the hum of electricity died out.

"Aw, man! I can't believe it! A blackout? I was looking forward to finishing the book I'm reading!" Winry said.

"Damn blackouts!" he said.

Edward felt the bed shift when Winry sat down next to him.

"What am I going to do until I fall asleep?" she asked. "I really wanted to finish that book, _Barry Spotter_."

"Don't tell me you actually read that stuff! I mean, first of all, what kind of name is Barry Spotter anyway?"

"Um, I guess the author couldn't come up with anything cleverer. Besides, it's a really cool series, no matter how goofy his name is." She said.

"Oh, and next you'll tell me how you're in love with that guy from _Moonlight_." Ed mumbled.

"Hm! That's insulting! I don't read _Moonlight_. It's lame."

Edward was relieved, because he didn't want to become jealous of a fictional character.

He realized he couldn't remember the last time he and Winry had a real conversation like this. It felt nice.

"Well, then, what about your favorite book?"

"I guess something by Lane Bausten. Her books are so witty and _romantic_." Winry sighed.

Edward became thankful for the darkness, because it masked his blush.

"So," he tried his best to steer the conversation away from romance, "I was reading this book on sleep disorders-"

Winry chuckled. "You _would_ read a book on sleep disorders. Hey, remember when Al used to sleepwalk? He'd barge into my room and say random things, and then leave. It was so weird!"

"Yeah, and remember once, he even ended up in the backyard, sleeping next to Den!" Ed replied.

They both laughed.

"Apparently people can also sleep-eat, sleep-write, and even sleep-drive!" he said.

"That's terrifying! What would make someone do that?"

"Some psychologists think it's suppressed desires manifesting themselves during the REM stage of sleep."

"Whoa" she said, "so it's like the things we don't allow ourselves to have while we're awake, we allow ourselves to have while we're asleep dreaming . . ."

"Yeah, exactly!"

The two sat in silence, absorbing the conversation.

"Speaking of sleep," Winry said, "I almost fell asleep during Granny's lecture on dish towels today."

"Yeah, she's so anal about them. Why does it matter if the blue ones go in the left drawer or whatever? Crazy lady. And have you ever noticed how she chews on her pipe before she yells? She does it every time, I swear."

Winry giggled. "I'm Pinako! I have no sense of humor! Blue towels in the left, only! The right drawer is for my smelly pipe collection!" She said in an exaggerated voice.

Edward laughed heartily. They continued to exchange impressions of Pinako until their sides ached from laughter.

"Hey Winry?" Ed said

"Yeah?"  
"When are you gonna make more pie? It's like I discovered the key to happiness when I bit into that delicious pie crust of yours."

Winry smiled to herself and blushed. "Okay I'll make some soon, if the electricity comes back on someday."

There was a break in the conversation, then "Hey, Ed? What time is it?"

He picked up the clock from the nightstand. He held the clock to the window, and read it in the moonlight.

"Ah! It's two A.M." he exclaimed.

"I need to get to bed."

"Yeah."

". . . But it's so dark and I don't want to stumble my way upstairs to my room in the dark. This bed is so warm." She dragged out her words.

Ed wondered where she was going with all of this.

"You're not going to make me go, right? I can sleep here tonight?" She asked in a near-whisper.

Ed could feel his pulse speed up. What was she thinking? There was only one bed in this room, didn't she know that?

"It could be like when we were little!" She cheered.

"Except we're not little." Ed retorted.

But it was too late. He felt the bed shift as Winry laid down next to him.

"Thanks," she said.

He felt her breath on his arm. That convinced him. What would be the harm in letting her sleep here? And the bed was pretty big. He probably wouldn't even notice Winry, because she's so far away, on the other side. It's not like he couldn't share the bed just this once with her.

Winry patted Ed's shoulder and whispered goodnight. Ed felt her fingers on his shoulder long after she removed them.


	2. Chapter 2 Morning

Edward's first instinct in the morning is to stretch upon awakening. Today, as he awoke, he found his limbs to be tied up. He blinked his eyes open to find his automail fingers laced with Winry's fingers. His left arm found its way around Winry's shoulder during the night.

The most delightfully terrifying part of it all to Ed, though, was realizing his face was inches away from a still unconscious Winry. Her lips might have touched his chin if he hiccupped. Ed never in his life desired hiccups until that moment.

Just as he had begun adjusting to the view, the view woke up. He could feel that she too was trying to stretch. She paused when a look of epiphany appeared on her face. She looked into Ed's excruciatingly close gaze. The pink on Winry's face mirrored the young alchemist's.

Winry then accomplished something that surprised the both of them—she moved closer. She laid her head on Ed's chest. Ed felt as though every breath was under scrutiny. He hoped she couldn't feel him tremble under her hair. Winry let out a small sigh, which caused Ed to try his best to relax and drink in the moment.

They retained this pose for a while. They did not stir for another half hour, not until called to the breakfast table. Only then did Edward notice the electricity returned. They both rose from the bed, each undoubtedly thinking of sleep.


End file.
